Our youthful compatriots at Dreamstuff Youth Theatre continue their 10th anniversary Dreamstuff 10 season with their biggest production to date this year. Andersen’s Fairytales: The Adventures Of Hans Christian Andersen is a sequel of sorts to 2004’s Grimm Fairytales: The Adventures Of The Brother’s Grimm.
Both plays were written by myself (which is why I’m plugging) and I thought that following up Grimm Fairytales with another fairytale mash up might be a nice idea for Dreamstuff’s 10th anniversary programme. Both plays share a few similarities and seeing as Hans Christian Andersen (then played by Richie Cody) gatecrashed the Brothers Grimm’s adventure in 2004, I thought it only fair that they should do the same to him in 2010. Thus, the older and hairier duo of Ross Costigan and David Thompson are returning as Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm to interrupt the quest of Hans Christian Andersen (played by Alan Doyle). The quest in this case is to lead a motley unit of fairytale characters (including Ariel, Pussenbootz, Pinocchio and The Sorceror) to defeat the villainous Snow Queen before psychotic fugitives Beauty and the Beast (Sleeping Beauty and Dick Whittington) can carve up the famous Pussenbootz.
So it’s the usual Dreamstuff formula of Pythonesque comedy, slapstick and crude innuendo, all wrapped up in a sweet fairytale package. It’s directed by Angela Barrett who is juggling directing this with their next production Shooting Truth by Molly Davis, which is being performed as part of the National Theatre’s Connections Programme this coming spring. So it’s busy times ahead for Kilkenny’s top youth theatre outfit.
For anyone who missed Grimm Fairytales in 2004 and would also like a sneak peek of Andersen’s Fairytales, here are video clips for both shows taken from September’s Dreamstuff 10 extravaganza. They should give you a little taster of what’s to come in the Watergate Theatre this week.
Andersen’s Fairytales opens in the Watergate Theatre on Wednesday December 15th and runs until December 18th at 8pm nightly. There’s also a matinee on December 18th at 2pm. Tickets are 10 Euro and can be booked on the Watergate Theatre box office line at 056 – 7761674.
